Caitlyn Jenner spoke out after OJ Simpson's death today, posting on Twitter: "Good Riddance #OJSimpson"
The disgraced former American football icon died aged 76 in Las Vegas after a prostate cancer diagnosis.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” the family wrote on Twitter. "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
Caitlyn was married to Kris Jenner, whose former husband Robert Kardashian was close friends with OJ Simpson when The Juice was accused of the 1994 stabbing of Nicole Brown Simpson and close friend Ron Goldman in Los Angeles.
Simpson was regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time after spending a decade in the NFL playing for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. He become a household name after being drafted No.1 overall by the Bills in 1969 after playing college football for USC.
But OJ became even better known for the court case that overshadowed his career as a footballer. He was famously acquitted at the end of a long trial in 1995, where he was represented by Robert Kardashian, Kris Jenner's former husband. OJ was later found guilty in a civil trial in 1996, and Brown's family was awarded damages.
Tributes to Simpson were few and far between. Goldman’s father, Fred, told the Mirror: “It is a reminder of how long Ron has been gone and how much we miss him. The only thing that is truly important are the victims. There is nothing that is more important than the loss of my son and the loss of Nicole.”
READ MORE: OJ Simpson dies aged 76 after cancer battle as family share statement
He told NBC News that Simpson's death was "no great loss to the world." Mr Goldman, 83, from Arizona, said the news of Simpson having lost his battle with prostate cancer “has nothing to do with closure.”
The family's lawyer, David Cook, said, “O.J. died without penance,” adding his clients remain interested in discerning what money and assets he may have left behind that they can collect on the judgment.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented Nicole Brown Simpson’s family during the trial, said, “O.J. Simpson did kill Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, may they rest in peace.”
She explained that since Simpson was found liable for the murders in the civil case, it was “fair to call him a killer.”
“I don’t mourn for O.J. Simpson,” she added. “I do mourn for Nicole Brown Simpson and her family, and they should be remembered.”
Allred said “the system failed Nicolle Brown Simpson and failed battered women everywhere,” explaining that, prior to her death, Simpson’s wife had been the victim of domestic violence and police had failed to protect her.
Alan Dershowitz, the prominent US attorney who served as an adviser on Simpson's legal team, said he was saddened to learn of his death. "I knew he was very sick, so I'm upset that he died," Dershowitz said. "I got to know him fairly well during the trial. It was one of the most divisive trials in American history along racial lines. He'll always be remembered for the Bronco chase, for the glove, and for the moment of acquittal."
Prof. Les Rose was a KTLA and CBS News photographer who was involved in covering the slow speed chase and trial, added: “It is Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman's families I am thinking of just as much in a very sympathetic way. Covering their loved ones for years forever gave me even more sympathy for families of horrendous crimes.”
It's not Jenner's first time criticising OJ in public. In 2021 she said during the Australian TV show Big Brother VIP, she told cameras that she thought Simpson had "gotten away" with the grisly double murder.
"Obviously he did it, and he got away with it, and at one point he even told Nicole, 'I'll kill you and get away with it 'cause I'm O.J. Simpson,'" Jenner said on the show.
The trial "was an extraordinarily difficult time," Jenner said. "Nicole was Kris' best friend. Had been for a long time."
Why OJ trial grabbed attention of the world
By Jessica Boulton, Daily Mirror columnist
A fallen All-American superstar. Two slaughtered in Beverly Hills. The world’s slowest police chase. Justice in the hands of an ill-fitting glove.
And every spit and cough captured on live TV.When it comes to celebrity culture, OJ Simpson’s descent into infamy was game-changer. It snared the world’s attention - and never it let go.Why? Because it was a tale of shock and gore, a self-destructing superstar whose life imploded overnight. A true crime tale with a Hollywood angle - perfect fodder for the emerging gossip magazines and 24-hour TV news channels of the time.His guilt or innocence didn’t just affect his own fate either.
The case was entrenched in the racial tensions still bubbling since the LA Riots just two years earlier, sparked by the torture of Rodney King.OJ woke up on June 12, 1994, America’s golden boy, an all-star NFL player-turned-Hollywood actor, starring in the likes of Naked Gun, and a black role model, universally adored.On June 13, he woke up a suspected double murderer - one whose ex-wife and male friend were found in a bloody puddle on her doorstep.
It was a tinderbox, a race bomb waiting to explode. And when the defence was accused of playing to the public gallery, this time that meant the world - thanks to it being one of the first high-profile cases filmed for TV.And that’s what really made this case so sadly iconic. We all remember seeing the moment with The Glove, playing out like a Hollywood movie.If it fit, he was guilty, if it didn’t....We all know what happened next.
So powerful was that twist, the trial was referenced in everything from The Simpsons to Friends. Then came 2016’s hit The People Vs OJ Simpson, starring Ross Geller and John Travolta. And don’t think Gen Z don’t care about OJ. He had the magic ingredient for fame in the TikTok world - a scandalous connection America’s first family....The Kardashians. The man can die, but interest in his scandal won’t.
"I was at Nicole's house two days before the murder," Jenner continues. "Obviously he did it, and he got away with it, and at one point he even told Nicole, "I'll kill you and get away with it 'cause I'm O.J. Simpson.' And Nicole relayed that on to Kris at one point, and unfortunately she was right."
Caitlyn reminisced: "We were at the courthouse. We're watching what's going on in the other room, and even after the not guilty verdict, the first thing Kris turns around to me and goes, 'We should have listened to Nicole. She was right right from the beginning.'"
Kris Jenner continuously believed that OJ Simpson was guilty of the murder of her friend, Nicole. Kris repeated her claim based on conversations she had with Nicole prior to her death.
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In a Sky documentary called House of Kardashian, Kris is seen speaking to reporters standing by her partner at the time, now known as Caitlyn Jenner.
Kris claimed in the clip: “She knew. She told me.” Kris claimed Nicole had told her, "He’s gonna kill me and he’s gonna get away with it. [She said it] through the years."
At the time of the trial, Kris and Caitlyn Jenner were expecting their first child together, Kendall Jenner. Kendall was born November 3, 1995 - exactly a month after the not-guilty verdict was handed down. When she was born, her mother gave her the middle name Nicole after her late friend.
In 2016, the model addressed the meaning behind her middle name in a Snapchat story. "My middle name is Nicole. [It's] after Nicole Brown Simpson because that was my mom's best friend," she said, "And I'm honoured to have this name."
Kris Jenner has since said numerous times that she has felt 'guilty' about not checking in on Nicole, despite her chilling prediction.
A week before Nicole was found stabbed to death, she had called up Jenner. “She says, ‘I gotta talk to you,” Jenner explained in a documentary. The two planned to have lunch. But that lunch never happened.